Storage container

ABSTRACT

Provided is a storage container for storing a cornea specimen in which an endothelium and an epithelium of a cornea can be immersed and stored in different storage solutions. The storage container  1 A is provided with a specimen-supporting portion  3 A which contains a first cornea exposure portion  31   a  and a second cornea exposure portion  31   b  that expose a cornea part  101 , the specimen-supporting portion supporting a scleral rim  102  at an outer circumferential side of the first and second cornea exposure portions  31   a,    31   b ; a first chamber  20   a  to which an endothelium side of the cornea part  101  in the cornea specimen  100  is exposed, the scleral rim  102  of the cornea specimen  100  being supported by the specimen-supporting portion  3 A, and the first chamber containing a first storage solution  60   a ; and a second chamber  20   b  to which an epithelium side of the cornea part  101  in the cornea specimen  100  is exposed, the scleral rim  102  of the cornea specimen  100  being supported by the specimen-supporting portion, the second chamber being divided from the first chamber  20   a  by the specimen-supporting portion  3 A, and the second chamber containing a second storage solution  60   b  that differs from the first storage solution  60   a , wherein the storage container is configured to prevent the first and second storage solutions  60   a,    60   b  from being circulated between the first and second chambers  20   a,    20   b.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a storage container for use and transplantation of a cornea of a human being and that of an animal.

BACKGROUND ART

The cornea, which is applied to the transplantation, has been cut with a ring-shaped scleral rim being left and has been generally stored in a storage container such as a simple glass bottle or a plastic case in which the cut piece is not bound, to be immersed in any filled storage solution.

A patent document 1 discloses a structure for clamping the scleral rim with a receiving surface and a mating surface to secure the cut corneal piece in the storage container. In addition, a patent document 2 discloses that a pressure gradient is created from an endothelium side of the cornea to an epithelium side thereof and discloses a structure for circulating the preservation medium to both of the endothelium side and the epithelium side. Namely, it discloses the structure containing an intermediate component (2) having a central hole which corresponds to a diameter of a cornea (3 a) of a cornea specimen (3) and a circumferential groove for receiving sclera central (3 b); an endothelium chamber (18) having orifices (7 a and 7 b as well as 11 a and 11 b) which are connected to the means for the circulation of the preservation medium and the creation of the pressure gradient; and an epithelium chamber (19).

In the above-mentioned past storage containers, the currently most used storage solution in general is Optisol GS (registered trademark) for sale on the market and a nonpatent document 1 reports that it is particularly suitable for storage of the endothelium of the cornea. In the meantime, a nonpatent document 2 reports that Optisol GS (registered trademark) is not suitable for storage of the epithelium of the cornea but ebselen solution is suitable therefor. Since the endothelium and epithelium of the cornea are different from each other in their tissue structure, it is desirable to immerse them in any different storage solutions but in the above-mentioned past storage containers, only one storage solution can be used.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS Patent Documents

-   Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Kohyo Publication No.     2008-518034; and -   Patent document 2: Japanese Patent Kohyo Publication No.     2016-512492.

Nonpatent Documents

-   Nonpatent document 1: Arch. Ophthalmol. 113, 805-809(1995)     “Viability of human corneal endothelium following Optisol-GS     storage; and -   Nonpatent document 2: Scientific Reports 6:38987 Dec. 14, 2016     “Ebselen Preserves Tissue-Engineered Cell Sheets and their Stem     Cells in Hypothermic Conditions”.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

An object of this invention is to present a storage container for storing a cornea specimen containing an entire cornea part which includes an endothelium and an epithelium of the cornea and a scleral rim whereby it is possible to store the cornea specimen with the endothelium of the cornea and the epithelium of the cornea being immersed in different storage solutions.

Means for Solving the Problems

To solve the above-mentioned problem, this invention relates to a storage container for storing a cornea specimen containing a cornea part and a scleral rim, the storage container including a specimen-supporting portion which contains a cornea exposure portion that exposes the cornea part, the specimen-supporting portion supporting the scleral rim at an outer circumferential side of the cornea exposure portion; a first chamber to which an endothelium side of the cornea part in the cornea specimen is exposed, the scleral rim of the cornea specimen being supported by the specimen-supporting portion, and the first chamber containing a first storage solution; and a second chamber to which an epithelium side of the cornea part in the cornea specimen is exposed, the scleral rim of the cornea specimen being supported by the specimen-supporting portion, the second chamber being divided from the first chamber by the specimen-supporting portion, and the second chamber containing a second storage solution that differs from the first storage solution, wherein the storage container is configured to prevent the first and second storage solutions from being circulated between the first and second chambers.

Advantage of the Invention

By this invention, the endothelium of the cornea can be immersed into the first storage solution that is suitable for the storage of the endothelium thereof and the epithelium of the cornea can be immersed into the second storage solution that is suitable for the storage of the epithelium thereof. This prevents the first and second storage solutions from being mixed. Accordingly, it is possible to store a cornea specimen in a storage container having a simple configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional side view showing an example of a storage container of a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a sectional perspective view showing the example of the storage container of the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional side view showing an example of a storage container of a second embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional side view showing an example of a storage container of a third embodiment; and

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional side view showing an example of a storage container of a fourth embodiment.

EMBODIMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The following will describe embodiments of a storage container according to the invention.

Configuration Example of a Storage Container of Embodiments

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional side view showing an example of a storage container of a first embodiment and FIG. 2 is a sectional perspective view showing the example of the storage container of the first embodiment.

A storage container 1A according to the first embodiment is a storage container for storing a cornea specimen 100 containing a cornea part 101 and a scleral rim 102, which is provided with a main body portion 2A and a specimen-supporting portion 3A for supporting the cornea specimen 100.

The main body portion 2A is configured to have a tubular shape such as a cylindrical shape and the specimen-supporting portion 3A is provided at almost center of an internal wall of the tube along an axis direction thereof. The main body portion 2A is provided with a first chamber 20 a into which a first storage solution 60 a is poured and a second chamber 20 b into which a second storage solution 60 b is poured, the second chamber being divided from the first chamber 20 a by the specimen-supporting portion 3A.

The main body portion 2A is configured to be composed of two parts, the first and second main body portions 21 a and 21 b. The first main body portion 21 a is provided with the first chamber 20 a and a first holding portion 30 a constituting the specimen-supporting portion 3A. In addition, the second main body portion 21 b is provided with the second chamber 20 b and a second holding portion 30 b constituting the specimen-supporting portion 3A.

When the first chamber 20 a is placed upward and the second chamber 20 b is placed downward, in the main body portion 2A, the first holding member 30 a forms a bottom surface of the first chamber 20 a and the second holding member 30 b forms a top surface of the second chamber 20 b.

The first holding portion 30 a has an opening, for example, circular opening having a diameter that is larger than a diameter of the cornea part 101 and smaller than a diameter of the scleral rim 102, on a center of a radial direction, which forms a first cornea exposure portion 31 a. The first holding portion 30 a has a flat shape on an outer circumference of the first cornea exposure portion 31 a and comes into contact with the endothelium side of the scleral rim 102 of the cornea specimen 100. The first holding portion 30 a is provided with a sealing member 32 a on the outer circumference of the first cornea exposure portion 31 a which the endothelium side of the scleral rim 102 contacts.

The second holding portion 30 b also has an opening, for example, circular opening having a diameter that is larger than a diameter of the cornea part 101 and smaller than a diameter of the scleral rim 102, on a center of a radial direction, which forms a second cornea exposure portion 31 b. The second holding portion 30 b has a flat shape on an outer circumference of the second cornea exposure portion 31 b and comes into contact with the epithelium side of the scleral rim 102 of the cornea specimen 100. The second holding portion 30 b is provided with a sealing member 32 b on the outer circumference of the second cornea exposure portion 31 b which the epithelium side of the scleral rim 102 contacts. Additionally, there may be a case where any sealing members 32 a, 32 b may be not provided if any flatness is secured on the scleral rim 102.

The specimen-supporting portion 3A is provided with a first pressure-receiving portion 33 a constituting a pressure-applying portion on an outer circumference of the first holding portion 30 a and a second pressure-receiving portion 33 b constituting the pressure-applying portion on an outer circumference of the second holding portion 30 b. The first pressure-receiving portion 33 a is configured so as to project outward from an outer circumference of the first main body portion 21 a and the second pressure-receiving portion 33 b is configured so as to project outward from an outer circumference of the second main body portion 21 b.

The specimen-supporting portion 3A supports the sclera rim 102 of the cornea specimen 100 between the first holding portion 30 a and the second holding portion 30 b on an outer circumferential side of each of the first and second cornea exposure portion 31 a, 31 b. In addition, in the specimen-supporting portion 3A, the cornea part 101 of the cornea specimen 100 is exposed to the first cornea exposure portion 31 a and the second cornea exposure portion 31 b.

In the first chamber 20 a, the endothelium side of the cornea part 101 is exposed to the first cornea exposure portion 31 a of the first holding portion 30 a. In the second chamber 20 b, the epithelium side of the cornea part 101 is also exposed to the second cornea exposure portion 31 b of the second holding portion 30 b.

Thereby, when supporting the cornea specimen 100 by the specimen-supporting portion 3A, the first chamber 20 a and the second chamber 20 b are divided by the specimen-supporting portion 3A and the cornea specimen, in the main body portion 2A, with air-tightness and water-tightness thereof being kept.

In the first chamber 20 a, a first opening 22 a is formed on an opposite side of the first holding portion 30 a and the first storage solution 60 a is poured from the first opening 22 a. The first chamber 20 a is provided with a first cap 40 a on the first opening 22 a.

The first cap 40 a is tightened on the first main body portion 21 a by screwing a male screw portion 23 a formed on an outer circumference surface of the first main body portion 21 a with a female screw portion 41 a formed on an inner circumference surface of the first cap 40 a to seal the first opening 22 a with its air-tightness and water-tightness being kept.

In the second chamber 20 b, a second opening 22 b is formed on an opposite side of the second holding portion 30 b and the second storage solution 60 b is poured from the second opening 22 b. The second chamber 20 b is provided with a second cap 40 b on the second opening 22 b.

The second cap 40 b is tightened on the second main body portion 21 b by screwing a male screw portion 23 b formed on an outer circumference surface of the second main body portion 21 b with a female screw portion 41 b formed on an inner circumference surface of the second cap 40 b to seal the second opening 22 b with its air-tightness and water-tightness being kept.

The main body portion 2A is configured so that when the first opening 22 a is sealed by the first cap 40 a and the second opening 22 b is sealed by the second cap 40 b, the first storage solution 60 a poured into the first chamber 20 a and the second storage solution 60 b poured into the second chamber 20 b cannot be circulated between the first chamber 20 a and the second chamber 20 b.

The following will describe how to use the storage container 1A. The cornea part 101 of the cornea specimen 100 is positioned on the second cornea exposure portion 31 b and the sclera rim 102 is mounted on the second holding portion 30 b according to the endothelium exposure direction.

Next, the cornea part 101 is positioned on the first cornea exposure portion 31 a and the first holding portion 30 a is mounted on the sclera rim 102 according to the epithelium exposure direction.

Plural clips 50 constituting the pressure-applying portion then clip the first pressure-receiving portion 33 a and the pressure-receiving portion 33 b to be a sealed condition. This allows the first holding portion 30 a and the second holding portion 30 b to be pressurized on an axis direction.

The first storage solution 60 a is then poured into the first chamber 20 a and the first opening 22 a is sealed by the first cap 40 a. After the main body portion 2A is reversed, the second storage solution 60 b is then poured into the second chamber 20 b and the second opening 22 b is sealed by the second cap 40 b.

Thereby, in the storage container 1A, the endothelium of the cornea part 101 can be immersed into the first storage solution 60 a such as Optisol GS (registered trade mark), which is suitable for storage of the endothelium, and the epithelium of the cornea part 101 can be immersed into the second storage solution 60 b such as ebselen solution, which is suitable for storage of the epithelium. This prevents the first and second storage solutions 60 a, 60 b from being mixed. Accordingly, it is possible to store the cornea specimen 100 by the storage container 1A with a simple configuration.

Variations of the Storage Container According to Embodiments

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional side view showing an example of the storage container of a second embodiment. In the following description of each embodiment, like codes are applied to members having the same functions as those of members in the storage container 1A of the first embodiment, the detailed explanation of which will be omitted.

A storage container 1B according to the second embodiment is provided with positioning members 24 for matching the positions of the first and second main body portions 21 a, 21 b. The positioning members 24 match the positions of the first and second main body portions 21 a, 21 b on a radial direction thereof, namely, match the positions of the first and second cornea exposure portions 31 a, 31 b on a radial direction thereof, by contacting an outer circumference of the first pressure-receiving portion 33 a and an outer circumference of the second pressure-receiving portion 33 b.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional side view showing an example of a storage container of a third embodiment. A storage container 1C according to the third embodiment has a main body portion 2B integrally configured as one body. In the specimen-supporting portion 3B, the second holding portion 30 b is integrally configured with the main body portion 2B but the first holding portion 30 a is separately configured with the main body portion 2B. The first holding portion 30 a is attached to the second holding portion 30 b by plural screws 34 constituting the pressure-applying portion.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional side view showing an example of a storage container of a fourth embodiment. In a storage container 1D according to the fourth embodiment, the first main body portion 21 a and the second main body portion 21 b are tightened by screwing a female screw portion 25 a constituting the pressure-applying portion, which is formed on an inner circumference surface of the first main body portion 21 a, with a male screw portion 25 b constituting the pressure-applying portion, which is formed on an outer circumference surface of the second main body portion 21 b, to configure the main body portion 2C. In addition, locking members 26 such as pins, each being inserted to pass through the sealing members 32 a, 32 b but not to pass through the second main body 21 b, are provided to prevent the sealing members 32 a, 32 b and the cornea specimen 100 from being rotated when screwing the first main body portion 21 a with the second main body portion 21 b.

DESCRIPTION OF CODES

-   -   1A, 1B, 1C, 1D . . . Storage Container     -   2A . . . Main Body Portion     -   20 a . . . First Chamber     -   20 b . . . Second Chamber     -   21 a . . . First Main Body Portion     -   21 b . . . Second Main Body Portion     -   22 a . . . First Opening     -   22 b . . . Second Opening     -   23 a, 23 b . . . Male Screw     -   24 . . . Positioning Members     -   25 a . . . Female Screw     -   25 b . . . Male Screw     -   26 . . . Locking Members     -   3A . . . Specimen-Supporting Portion     -   30 a . . . First Holding Portion     -   30 b . . . Second Holding Portion     -   31 a . . . First Cornea Exposure Portion     -   31 b . . . Second Cornea Exposure Portion     -   32 a, 32 b . . . Sealing Member     -   33 a . . . First Pressure-Receiving Portion     -   33 b . . . Second Pressure-Receiving Portion     -   34 . . . Screws     -   40 a . . . First Cap     -   40 b . . . Second Cap     -   41 a, 41 b . . . Female Screw     -   50 . . . Clips     -   60 a . . . First Storage Solution     -   60 b . . . Second Storage Solution 

1. A storage container for storing a cornea specimen containing a cornea part and a scleral rim, the storage container comprising: a specimen-supporting portion which contains a cornea exposure portion that exposes the cornea part, the specimen-supporting portion supporting the scleral rim at an outer circumferential side of the cornea exposure portion; a first chamber to which an endothelium side of the cornea part in the cornea specimen is exposed, the scleral rim of the cornea specimen being supported by the specimen-supporting portion, and the first chamber containing a first storage solution; and a second chamber to which an epithelium side of the cornea part in the cornea specimen is exposed, the scleral rim of the cornea specimen being supported by the specimen-supporting portion, the second chamber being divided from the first chamber by the specimen-supporting portion, and the second chamber containing a second storage solution that differs from the first storage solution, wherein the storage container is configured to prevent the first and second storage solutions from being circulated between the first and second chambers.
 2. The storage container according to claim 1 wherein the specimen-supporting contains first and second holding portions for cramping the scleral rim and a pressure-applying portion for applying pressure on the first and second holding portions along an axis direction.
 3. The storage container according to claim 2 wherein the storage container comprises: a main body portion including the first and second chambers which are divided from each other by the specimen-supporting portion; a first openable cap with which a first opening facing the first chamber of the main body portion is sealed; and a second openable cap with which a second opening facing the second chamber of the main body portion is sealed.
 4. The storage container according to claim 3 wherein the main body portion includes: a first main body portion containing the first chamber and a second main body portion containing the second chamber, and the specimen-supporting portion includes: the first holding portion on the first main body portion and the second holding portion on the second main body portion.
 5. The storage container according to claim 2 wherein the cornea exposure portion contains a first cornea exposure portion for exposing the endothelium side of the cornea part on the first holding portion and a second cornea exposure portion for exposing the epithelium side of the cornea part on the second holding portion. 